Your friend is right. Do not be offended by him. Not everyone knows how to learn how to trade correctly. So just be patient and start making your first steps and mistakes yourself. And then you can ask a friend for advice.
Now you need to pay attention to the team (maybe one of the participants has already been seen in the scam), how much it collects on the ICO, whether the github is updated. Read the information on the forums and proven telegram channels.